ORLANDO, Fla. – The Yankees plan to begin negotiations with the representatives for second baseman Robinson Cano sometime next week, managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a late-evening address here at the GM Meetings.

Retaining Cano is the organization’s top priority this offseason. But Steinbrenner reiterated the variety of problems with the roster that must be settled.

“Well, we’re going to be talking to him,” Steinbrenner said about Cano. “But we’re going to be talking to other guys, too, along the way. That’s what we do every year. It’s no different.”

Steinbrenner delivered a few other bits of news, including explaining the team’s resolution on their months-long analysis of their player-development system. The team made a series of “procedural” changes, Steinbrenner said. But Mark Newman will remain the senior vice president of baseball operations in charge of player development and Damon Oppenheimer will continue to run the draft as the director of amateur scouting.

Here is the partial transcript of Steinbrenner’s remarks:

What’s the latest with Cano?

“I’m sure in the next week we’re going to sit down and talk to him. We haven’t really had any communication on any specifics, yet. But it’s the beginning of the process.”

Do you get the sense Jay-Z will join the negotiations, or will it just be Brodie Van Wagenen?

“We’ll see. As of now, again, we’ve had no meetings the last week or two, since this process began, since free agency began. But we’re going to be talking to them, whether it’s in person or on the phone. We’re going to start the process.”

How daunting is this winter, between your payroll goals and the uncertainty regarding Alex Rodriguez?

“Well, it’s difficult. Right now, we’re assuming Alex is going to be our starting third baseman. Time will tell. But we’ve obviously got a lot of holes to fill, and a lot of concerns. But we’re going to keep plugging away, and we’re going to leave no stone unturned, as always. And try to field the best team we can.”

Do you have to make plans for Rodriguez not playing next season?

“Well, again, we’ve got a lot of holes to fill. We’ve got some pitching problems we need to take care of. And third base isn’t the only piece of the puzzle.”

Is the $189 million payroll goal as much a goal as it was two years ago?

“Well, as I’ve been saying for the last few months, not at the expense of fielding a championship-caliber team. We’re not going to do that. We know what the fans expect of us. We’re going to field the best team we can. Is it a goal? It’s absolutely a goal. But not at the expense of that.”

Do you believe you can accomplish both?

“Well, we’ll have to see. We’ll have to see. This is not as strong a free-agent market as other years, so prices may be higher. We’re just at the very beginning right now. We’re going to have to see. We’ve just got to start fixing the problems. We’ve got to start filling the holes, one by one, and we’ll cross each bridge as they come.”

Is getting Cano re-signed the biggest priority?

“Well, we’re going to be talking to him. But we’re going to be talking to other guys, too, along the way. That’s what we do every year. It’s no different.”

Have you come to any resolutions on changes to the player-development system?

“Yeah, we have. We’ve made some changes. The vast majority of the changes will be procedural. We’ve changed a few coaches, and we’ve brought in a few people. But Cash spent a lot of time, a good two months, looking at process: How we do things, how people communicate with each other. And we found some things that we were not happy with. So we changed them.”

But Mark Newman will still run development, and Damon Oppenheimer will still run the draft?

“Mark is still there. Damon is still there.”

In the same roles?

“In the same roles.”

Do you feel hamstrung by not knowing the resolution to Rodriguez’s situation?

“Well, again, even with Alex as our third baseman we’ve got a fair amount of money to disperse to try to fill the holes. And that’s what we’re going to do. We all worry. But I try not to worry about things I can’t control. I can’t control that process.”

You’d rather have a resolution sooner rather than later, though.

“I think that would be best for everybody, everybody involved. Including the sport itself.”

Is it frustrating, because this process started so many weeks ago, that it’s still dragging on?

“Look, it’s complicated. I know everybody’s doing the best they can. The arbitrator, the commissioner, MLB. But there’s a lot of evidence I’m sure they’re looking at. A lot of things they’re looking at. And these things take time.”

Given Rodriguez’s lawsuit against team doctor Chris Ahmad, is there anything different you have to do this season with regards to his treatment?

“No, we’re not doing anything different than we were a year ago.”

Will Ahmad still treat Rodriguez?

“Absolutely. As far as I know. Look, anybody can get a second opinion. And most of them do.”

Have you communicated with Rodriguez at all since the suspension was announced?

“I personally have not. The last time I talked to Alex was right before he went to Scranton [on a rehab assignment during the summer]. And I just conveyed to him that we want him back, we need him back, but I don’t want another situation where a player comes back where he’s not completely ready, and, boom, he’s out again for another two weeks. I think he understood that. But, yeah, it’s been a few months.”

Since the suspension, there’s no discussion. Is that by design, because of the legal ramifications?

“Whatever the reason, I have not.”

Have you been able to determine what the problems are in your player-development department, and why you’ve struggled with developing players?

“Again, it’s been disappointing with players like [Dellin] Betances and [Manny] Banuelos, guys we thought would really do well. As of yet, they haven’t. But we looked at this thing from top to bottom. And it’s really easy to say ‘Get rid of this guy, get rid of this guy, get rid of that guy.’ And there’s certainly some owners that might do that. But that doesn’t always solve the problem.

“Sometimes, it’s a procedural, or a process. The way scouts influence each other, because they’re talking too much to each other. Somebody has a pre-conception about a player they haven’t even seen yet, because they’ve talked to two scouts about them. And they go in to go see the player with those preconceptions.

“Those are the kind of things we’re working on: Communication. We’re teaching the scouts. We’re going to teach them to look for different things, maybe things they haven’t looked at before. Things that Cashman feels is important and Mark feels is important.

“All I can tell you is it was a two- to three-month deal, from top to bottom. And we made dozens of changes that we’re just going to have to see, as we’re writing them.”

But it’s more than just the scouts. It’s the development, too.

“The other thing we’re doing: Gil Patterson, for instance. I like to have top-notch roving guys. A hitting guy, a bunting/base-stealing guy. We hired Jody Reed. He’s going to fill that role. Really top-notch guys like Gil and Jody for all the different aspects of the game. They’re going to be around all the different minor-league teams, working with the coaches and fixing problems that they see.”

Was it an easy decision to give Derek Jeter a raise from his player option for 2014?

“Given what Derek has meant to the organization, means to the organization, all I’m going to say is most sides needed to be comfortable with a number. We needed to come up with a number that both sides felt was right. And so we did.”

Do you have any concerns about him heading into the season?

“No, given his age and given the severity of the injury, we all have concerns. But if anybody can succeed, it’s Derek. Nobody is tougher. And nobody is going to work harder to get back. But given his age, and given what his injury is – it’s not a grade-one quad strain. This is a very serious injury. So are there concerns? Yes. But we’re also confident that he’s going to come back.”

Did you discuss with Jeter his intentions for beyond 2014?

“We really didn’t. And I don’t know that Derek has thought that far. He’s got a lot of thinking to do just getting to March. You know what I mean? And I think that’s his focus for right now.”

Can you give us any comment on Masahiro Tanaka?

“We’ve been in on those things before. And we certainly like him. A great player, without a doubt. So we’ll just have to see. I’m sure there will be numerous teams in on him. He’ll be a great, great catch for anybody.”